Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Earns “Buy” Rating from BTIG Research

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at BTIG Research in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $18.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price indicates a potential upside of 117.65% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $13.00 price objective on Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price objective on Verastem and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Verastem in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.83.

Verastem Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Verastem stock opened at $8.27 on Monday. Verastem has a 12-month low of $3.43 and a 12-month high of $10.82. The stock has a market cap of $748.93 million, a P/E ratio of -3.08 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $7.37 and its 200-day moving average is $5.83.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $40.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.88 million. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 467.49% and a negative net margin of 231.59%. Equities research analysts predict that Verastem will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $352,968.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,221,696. The trade was a 6.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,044 shares of company stock worth $381,484. 1.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Verastem in the second quarter valued at $706,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verastem by 157.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after buying an additional 347,872 shares during the period. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,600,000. Opaleye Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,876,000. Finally, Exome Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 58.5% during the 1st quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 636,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,375,000 after purchasing an additional 234,957 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem Oncology (NASDAQ:VSTM) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancers driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway. The company’s research is aimed at addressing cancers with limited treatment options, including ovarian cancer and other solid tumors.

Verastem’s lead product, avutometinib, is a treatment targeting the RAF/MEK signaling pathway and is marketed in the United States under the brand name Avmapki for certain patients with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer.